diff --git a/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_spancat.py b/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_spancat.py
index 2f7e952d3..39d2e97da 100644
--- a/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_spancat.py
+++ b/spacy/tests/pipeline/test_spancat.py
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ def test_explicit_labels():
     nlp.initialize()
     assert spancat.labels == ("PERSON", "LOC")
 
-
+#TODO figure out why this is flaky
+@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Test is unreliable for unknown reason")
 def test_doc_gc():
     # If the Doc object is garbage collected, the spans won't be functional afterwards
     nlp = Language()
@@ -97,6 +98,7 @@ def test_doc_gc():
         assert isinstance(spangroups, SpanGroups)
         for key, spangroup in spangroups.items():
             assert isinstance(spangroup, SpanGroup)
+            # XXX This fails with length 0 sometimes
             assert len(spangroup) > 0
             with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
                 span = spangroup[0]