diff --git a/libs/esl/perl/ESL/Dispatch.pm b/libs/esl/perl/ESL/Dispatch.pm
index c836457708..54ea1e0cb7 100644
--- a/libs/esl/perl/ESL/Dispatch.pm
+++ b/libs/esl/perl/ESL/Dispatch.pm
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ sub render_event($;$$) {
     if ($self->{_decode}) {
       $val =~ s/\%([A-Fa-f0-9]{2})/pack('C', hex($1))/seg;
     }
+    $h =~ s/^variable_//;
     $self->{event_hash}->{lc($h)} = $val;
     $h = $event->nextHeader();
   }