diff --git a/gammapy/irf/background.py b/gammapy/irf/background.py
index a5e0757c1c..1c8f9ad4b5 100644
--- a/gammapy/irf/background.py
+++ b/gammapy/irf/background.py
@@ -91,8 +91,7 @@ def from_table(cls, table, format="gadf-dl3"):
             data = data.transpose()
 
         if (
-            table.meta
-            and table.meta.get("CREATOR", None) == "SASH FITS::EventListWriter"
+            table.meta.get("CREATOR", None) == "SASH FITS::EventListWriter"
             and table.meta.get("HDUVERS", None) == "0.2"
         ):
             # longitude is reverse in this production