diff --git a/reference/reference.go b/reference/reference.go
index 136ef36b76..b22961b39d 100644
--- a/reference/reference.go
+++ b/reference/reference.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ type Canonical interface {
 func ParseNamed(s string) (Named, error) {
 	named, err := distreference.ParseNamed(s)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Error parsing reference: %q is not a valid repository/tag", s)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Error parsing reference: %q is not a valid repository/tag: %s", s, err)
 	}
 	r, err := WithName(named.Name())
 	if err != nil {