diff --git a/Cite.i18n.php b/Cite.i18n.php
index 8889b3e5..34dc857d 100644
--- a/Cite.i18n.php
+++ b/Cite.i18n.php
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ $wgCiteMessages['en'] = array(
 <code>&lt;references /&gt;</code>',
 	'cite_error_' . CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_INVALID_PARAMETERS => 'Invalid <code>&lt;references&gt;</code> tag; no parameters are allowed, use <code>&lt;references /&gt;</code>',
 	'cite_error_' . CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_BACKLINK_LABEL  => "Ran out of custom backlink labels, define more in the \"''cite_references_link_many_format_backlink_labels''\" message",
+	'cite_error_' . CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_TEXT            => 'No text given.',
 
 	/*
 	   Output formatting
diff --git a/Cite.php b/Cite.php
index eb4348ac..cbeb4c60 100644
--- a/Cite.php
+++ b/Cite.php
@@ -44,7 +44,8 @@ $wgCiteErrors = array(
 		'CITE_ERROR_REF_NO_INPUT',
 		'CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_INVALID_INPUT',
 		'CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_INVALID_PARAMETERS',
-		'CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_BACKLINK_LABEL'
+		'CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_BACKLINK_LABEL',
+		'CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_TEXT'
 	)
 );
 
@@ -376,6 +377,13 @@ function wfCite() {
 						$this->refKey( $key ),
 						$val
 					);
+			else if ($val['text']=='') return
+					wfMsgForContentNoTrans(
+						'cite_references_link_one',
+						$this->referencesKey( $key ),
+						$this->refKey( $key, $val['count'] ),
+						$this->error(CITE_ERROR_REFERENCES_NO_TEXT)
+					);
 			// Standalone named reference, I want to format this like an
 			// anonymous reference because displaying "1. 1.1 Ref text" is
 			// overkill and users frequently use named references when they