diff --git a/proxy/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftDecoder.java b/proxy/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftDecoder.java
index ae84e7495c..4051972527 100644
--- a/proxy/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftDecoder.java
+++ b/proxy/src/main/java/com/velocitypowered/proxy/protocol/netty/MinecraftDecoder.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.protocol.MinecraftPacket;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.protocol.ProtocolUtils;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.protocol.StateRegistry;
+import com.velocitypowered.proxy.util.VelocityProperties;
 import com.velocitypowered.proxy.util.except.QuietRuntimeException;
 import io.netty.buffer.ByteBuf;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelHandlerContext;
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ public class MinecraftDecoder extends ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter {
   private static final QuietRuntimeException DECODE_FAILED =
       new QuietRuntimeException("A packet did not decode successfully (invalid data). For more "
           + "information, launch Velocity with -Dvelocity.packet-decode-logging=true to see more.");
+  private static final boolean DIRECTION_VALIDATION = VelocityProperties.readBoolean("velocity.packet-direction-validation", true);
 
   private final ProtocolUtils.Direction direction;
   private StateRegistry state;
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ private void tryDecode(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, ByteBuf buf) throws Exception
     MinecraftPacket packet = this.registry.createPacket(packetId);
     if (packet == null) {
       buf.readerIndex(originalReaderIndex);
-      if (this.direction == ProtocolUtils.Direction.SERVERBOUND && this.state != StateRegistry.PLAY) {
+      if (DIRECTION_VALIDATION && this.direction == ProtocolUtils.Direction.SERVERBOUND && this.state != StateRegistry.PLAY) {
         buf.release();
         throw this.handleInvalidPacketId(packetId);
       }