diff --git a/internal/gatewayapi/route.go b/internal/gatewayapi/route.go
index f2b99db78f62..43c3c44aceef 100644
--- a/internal/gatewayapi/route.go
+++ b/internal/gatewayapi/route.go
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ func (t *Translator) processHTTPRouteRules(httpRoute *HTTPRouteContext, parentRe
 		dstAddrTypeMap := make(map[ir.DestinationAddressType]int)
 
 		for _, backendRef := range rule.BackendRefs {
+			backendRef := backendRef
 			backendRefContext := BackendRefContext{
 				HTTPBackendRef: &backendRef,
 			}
@@ -471,6 +472,7 @@ func (t *Translator) processGRPCRouteRules(grpcRoute *GRPCRouteContext, parentRe
 		}
 
 		for _, backendRef := range rule.BackendRefs {
+			backendRef := backendRef
 			backendRefContext := BackendRefContext{
 				GRPCBackendRef: &backendRef,
 			}