diff --git a/library/system/ufw b/library/system/ufw
index 8496997b279..40bbb313edc 100644
--- a/library/system/ufw
+++ b/library/system/ufw
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ def main():
     if len(commands) < 1:
         module.fail_json(msg="Not any of the command arguments %s given" % commands)
 
+    if('interface' in params and 'direction' not in params):
+      module.fail_json(msg="Direction must be specified when creating a rule on an interface")
+
     # Ensure ufw is available
     ufw_bin = module.get_bin_path('ufw', True)