diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0fa1c7683e..fac0b4ac04 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
     Bug #4837: CTD when a mesh with NiLODNode root node with particles is loaded
     Bug #4860: Actors outside of processing range visible for one frame after spawning
     Bug #4876: AI ratings handling inconsistencies
+    Bug #4888: Global variable stray explicit reference calls break script compilation
     Feature #2229: Improve pathfinding AI
     Feature #3442: Default values for fallbacks from ini file
     Feature #3610: Option to invert X axis
diff --git a/components/compiler/exprparser.cpp b/components/compiler/exprparser.cpp
index 6b849ec3aa..b3fd1e5ae1 100644
--- a/components/compiler/exprparser.cpp
+++ b/components/compiler/exprparser.cpp
@@ -277,10 +277,18 @@ namespace Compiler
     {
         if (!mExplicit.empty())
         {
-            if (mMemberOp && handleMemberAccess (name))
-                return true;
+            if (!mRefOp)
+            {
+                if (mMemberOp && handleMemberAccess (name))
+                    return true;
 
-            return Parser::parseName (name, loc, scanner);
+                return Parser::parseName (name, loc, scanner);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                mExplicit.clear();
+                getErrorHandler().warning ("Ignoring stray explicit reference", loc);
+            }
         }
 
         mFirst = false;
diff --git a/components/compiler/lineparser.cpp b/components/compiler/lineparser.cpp
index 3f9d2e7903..1cfa70f733 100644
--- a/components/compiler/lineparser.cpp
+++ b/components/compiler/lineparser.cpp
@@ -506,6 +506,13 @@ namespace Compiler
             return true;
         }
 
+        if (code==Scanner::S_ref && mState==SetPotentialMemberVarState)
+        {
+            getErrorHandler().warning ("Ignoring stray explicit reference", loc);
+            mState = SetState;
+            return true;
+        }
+
         if (code==Scanner::S_ref && mState==PotentialExplicitState)
         {
             mState = ExplicitState;