diff --git a/templates/sources.list.debian.tmpl b/templates/sources.list.debian.tmpl
index e8a7c01501d..d8f91f40791 100644
--- a/templates/sources.list.debian.tmpl
+++ b/templates/sources.list.debian.tmpl
@@ -26,5 +26,7 @@ deb-src {{mirror}} {{codename}}-updates main
 ## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
 ## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
 ## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
-deb {{mirror}} {{codename}}-backports main
-deb-src {{mirror}} {{codename}}-backports main
+## N.B. backports repository was deprecated in Debian 11 (bullseye).
+{% if codename != 'bullseye' %}deb {{mirror}} {{codename}}-backports main
+{% endif %}{% if codename != 'bullseye' %}deb-src {{mirror}} {{codename}}-backports main
+{% endif %}