diff --git a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/verify-settings.yml b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/verify-settings.yml
index b35946407..9a04e2016 100644
--- a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/verify-settings.yml
+++ b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/verify-settings.yml
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@
 
 - name: Stop if incompatible network plugin and cloudprovider
   assert:
-    that: network_plugin != calico
+    that: network_plugin != 'calico'
+    msg: "Azure and Calico are not compatible. See https://github.com/projectcalico/calicoctl/issues/949 for details."
   when: cloud_provider is defined and cloud_provider == 'azure'
   ignore_errors: "{{ ignore_assert_errors }}"