diff --git a/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass.go b/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
index 4aa11c4cd7..3169e7578e 100644
--- a/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
+++ b/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@ import (
 	gatewayv1a2 "sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api/apis/v1alpha2"
 )
 
-// IsControllerNameValid checks that the provided controllerName complaints with the expected
+var controllerNameRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?(\.[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?)*\/[A-Za-z0-9\/\-._~%!$&'()*+,;=:]+$`)
+
+// IsControllerNameValid checks that the provided controllerName complies with the expected
 // format. It must be a non-empty domain prefixed path.
 func IsControllerNameValid(controllerName gatewayv1a2.GatewayController) bool {
 	if controllerName == "" {
 		return false
 	}
-
-	re := regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?(\.[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?)*\/[A-Za-z0-9\/\-._~%!$&'()*+,;=:]+$`)
-	return re.Match([]byte(controllerName))
+	return controllerNameRegex.Match([]byte(controllerName))
 }
diff --git a/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go b/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
index abf81389c3..10c097e0fe 100644
--- a/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
+++ b/apis/v1alpha2/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
@@ -35,10 +35,20 @@ func TestIsControllerNameValid(t *testing.T) {
 			isvalid:        false,
 		},
 		{
-			name:           "invalid controller name",
+			name:           "invalid controller name 1",
 			controllerName: "example.com",
 			isvalid:        false,
 		},
+		{
+			name:           "invalid controller name 2",
+			controllerName: "example*com",
+			isvalid:        false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "invalid controller name 3",
+			controllerName: "example/@bar",
+			isvalid:        false,
+		},
 		{
 			name:           "valid controller name",
 			controllerName: "example.com/bar",
diff --git a/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass.go b/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
index 46a03780a5..5ebad3095e 100644
--- a/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
+++ b/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass.go
@@ -22,12 +22,13 @@ import (
 	gatewayv1b1 "sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api/apis/v1beta1"
 )
 
-// IsControllerNameValid checks that the provided controllerName complaints with the expected
+var controllerNameRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?(\.[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?)*\/[A-Za-z0-9\/\-._~%!$&'()*+,;=:]+$`)
+
+// IsControllerNameValid checks that the provided controllerName complies with the expected
 // format. It must be a non-empty domain prefixed path.
 func IsControllerNameValid(controllerName gatewayv1b1.GatewayController) bool {
 	if controllerName == "" {
 		return false
 	}
-	re := regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?(\.[a-z0-9]([-a-z0-9]*[a-z0-9])?)*\/[A-Za-z0-9\/\-._~%!$&'()*+,;=:]+$`)
-	return re.Match([]byte(controllerName))
+	return controllerNameRegex.Match([]byte(controllerName))
 }
diff --git a/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go b/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
index 73a3549062..c8fe0f6433 100644
--- a/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
+++ b/apis/v1beta1/util/validation/gatewayclass_test.go
@@ -35,10 +35,20 @@ func TestIsControllerNameValid(t *testing.T) {
 			isvalid:        false,
 		},
 		{
-			name:           "invalid controller name",
+			name:           "invalid controller name 1",
 			controllerName: "example.com",
 			isvalid:        false,
 		},
+		{
+			name:           "invalid controller name 2",
+			controllerName: "example*com",
+			isvalid:        false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "invalid controller name 3",
+			controllerName: "example/@bar",
+			isvalid:        false,
+		},
 		{
 			name:           "valid controller name",
 			controllerName: "example.com/bar",