diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index a6c6f65be7b5d1cea2df6a0f894d26988f042552..b2d5028cd710f5b77e04a2d407a75192cdf4a44e 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ variables:
   GIT_STRATEGY: fetch
   GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY: "1"
   GIT_DEPTH: 1
-  GIT_SUBMODULE_STRATEGY: recursive
   # to re-use clones also in different forks
   GIT_CLONE_PATH: $CI_BUILDS_DIR/$CI_CONCURRENT_ID/$CI_PROJECT_NAME
   ## Runtime options for sanitizers