diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
index 991321b04084..da4022a211f6 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
@@ -13304,6 +13304,10 @@ static int i40e_xdp_setup(struct i40e_vsi *vsi, struct bpf_prog *prog,
 	bool need_reset;
 	int i;
 
+	/* VSI shall be deleted in a moment, block loading new programs */
+	if (prog && test_bit(__I40E_IN_REMOVE, pf->state))
+		return -EINVAL;
+
 	/* Don't allow frames that span over multiple buffers */
 	if (frame_size > i40e_calculate_vsi_rx_buf_len(vsi)) {
 		NL_SET_ERR_MSG_MOD(extack, "MTU too large to enable XDP");
@@ -13312,14 +13316,9 @@ static int i40e_xdp_setup(struct i40e_vsi *vsi, struct bpf_prog *prog,
 
 	/* When turning XDP on->off/off->on we reset and rebuild the rings. */
 	need_reset = (i40e_enabled_xdp_vsi(vsi) != !!prog);
-
 	if (need_reset)
 		i40e_prep_for_reset(pf);
 
-	/* VSI shall be deleted in a moment, just return EINVAL */
-	if (test_bit(__I40E_IN_REMOVE, pf->state))
-		return -EINVAL;
-
 	old_prog = xchg(&vsi->xdp_prog, prog);
 
 	if (need_reset) {