diff --git a/libavcodec/h261dec.c b/libavcodec/h261dec.c
index be285ce5e9..8671800c3e 100644
--- a/libavcodec/h261dec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/h261dec.c
@@ -97,8 +97,6 @@ static av_cold int h261_decode_init(AVCodecContext *avctx)
     s->low_delay   = 1;
     avctx->pix_fmt = AV_PIX_FMT_YUV420P;
 
-    h->gob_start_code_skipped = 0;
-
     ff_thread_once(&init_static_once, h261_decode_init_static);
 
     return 0;