diff --git a/src/cmd/create.go b/src/cmd/create.go
index 60755be..c722f3d 100644
--- a/src/cmd/create.go
+++ b/src/cmd/create.go
@@ -147,28 +147,12 @@ func create(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		containerArg = "--container"
 	}
 
-	if container != "" {
-		if !utils.IsContainerNameValid(container) {
-			err := createErrorInvalidContainer(containerArg)
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-
-	var release string
-	if createFlags.release != "" {
-		var err error
-		release, err = utils.ParseRelease(createFlags.distro, createFlags.release)
-		if err != nil {
-			hint := err.Error()
-			err := createErrorInvalidRelease(hint)
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-
-	container, image, release, err := utils.ResolveContainerAndImageNames(container,
+	container, image, release, err := resolveContainerAndImageNames(container,
+		containerArg,
 		createFlags.distro,
 		createFlags.image,
-		release)
+		createFlags.release)
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/src/cmd/enter.go b/src/cmd/enter.go
index 7b9452e..9a94c3d 100644
--- a/src/cmd/enter.go
+++ b/src/cmd/enter.go
@@ -100,27 +100,18 @@ func enter(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	if container != "" {
 		defaultContainer = false
-
-		if !utils.IsContainerNameValid(container) {
-			err := createErrorInvalidContainer(containerArg)
-			return err
-		}
 	}
 
-	var release string
 	if enterFlags.release != "" {
 		defaultContainer = false
-
-		var err error
-		release, err = utils.ParseRelease(enterFlags.distro, enterFlags.release)
-		if err != nil {
-			hint := err.Error()
-			err := createErrorInvalidRelease(hint)
-			return err
-		}
 	}
 
-	container, image, release, err := utils.ResolveContainerAndImageNames(container, enterFlags.distro, "", release)
+	container, image, release, err := resolveContainerAndImageNames(container,
+		containerArg,
+		enterFlags.distro,
+		"",
+		enterFlags.release)
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/src/cmd/rootMigrationPath.go b/src/cmd/rootMigrationPath.go
index f3b9f45..5c97a4f 100644
--- a/src/cmd/rootMigrationPath.go
+++ b/src/cmd/rootMigrationPath.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func rootRunImpl(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	container, image, release, err := utils.ResolveContainerAndImageNames("", "", "", "")
+	container, image, release, err := resolveContainerAndImageNames("", "", "", "", "")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/src/cmd/run.go b/src/cmd/run.go
index 20965f5..68d6b52 100644
--- a/src/cmd/run.go
+++ b/src/cmd/run.go
@@ -100,24 +100,10 @@ func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	if runFlags.container != "" {
 		defaultContainer = false
-
-		if !utils.IsContainerNameValid(runFlags.container) {
-			err := createErrorInvalidContainer("--container")
-			return err
-		}
 	}
 
-	var release string
 	if runFlags.release != "" {
 		defaultContainer = false
-
-		var err error
-		release, err = utils.ParseRelease(runFlags.distro, runFlags.release)
-		if err != nil {
-			hint := err.Error()
-			err := createErrorInvalidRelease(hint)
-			return err
-		}
 	}
 
 	if len(args) == 0 {
@@ -131,7 +117,12 @@ func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	command := args
 
-	container, image, release, err := utils.ResolveContainerAndImageNames(runFlags.container, runFlags.distro, "", release)
+	container, image, release, err := resolveContainerAndImageNames(runFlags.container,
+		"--container",
+		runFlags.distro,
+		"",
+		runFlags.release)
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/src/cmd/utils.go b/src/cmd/utils.go
index 42d4428..911d0a7 100644
--- a/src/cmd/utils.go
+++ b/src/cmd/utils.go
@@ -81,6 +81,17 @@ func createErrorInvalidContainer(containerArg string) error {
 	return errors.New(errMsg)
 }
 
+func createErrorInvalidImageForContainerName(container string) error {
+	var builder strings.Builder
+	fmt.Fprintf(&builder, "invalid argument for '--image'\n")
+	fmt.Fprintf(&builder, "Container name %s generated from image is invalid.\n", container)
+	fmt.Fprintf(&builder, "Container names must match '%s'.\n", utils.ContainerNameRegexp)
+	fmt.Fprintf(&builder, "Run '%s --help' for usage.", executableBase)
+
+	errMsg := builder.String()
+	return errors.New(errMsg)
+}
+
 func createErrorInvalidRelease(hint string) error {
 	var builder strings.Builder
 	fmt.Fprintf(&builder, "invalid argument for '--release'\n")
@@ -101,6 +112,45 @@ func getUsageForCommonCommands() string {
 	return usage
 }
 
+func resolveContainerAndImageNames(container, containerArg, distroCLI, imageCLI, releaseCLI string) (
+	string, string, string, error,
+) {
+	container, image, release, err := utils.ResolveContainerAndImageNames(container,
+		distroCLI,
+		imageCLI,
+		releaseCLI)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		var errContainer *utils.ContainerError
+		var errParseRelease *utils.ParseReleaseError
+
+		if errors.As(err, &errContainer) {
+			if errors.Is(err, utils.ErrContainerNameInvalid) {
+				if containerArg == "" {
+					panicMsg := fmt.Sprintf("unexpected %T without containerArg: %s", err, err)
+					panic(panicMsg)
+				}
+
+				err := createErrorInvalidContainer(containerArg)
+				return "", "", "", err
+			} else if errors.Is(err, utils.ErrContainerNameFromImageInvalid) {
+				err := createErrorInvalidImageForContainerName(errContainer.Container)
+				return "", "", "", err
+			} else {
+				panicMsg := fmt.Sprintf("unexpected %T: %s", err, err)
+				panic(panicMsg)
+			}
+		} else if errors.As(err, &errParseRelease) {
+			err := createErrorInvalidRelease(errParseRelease.Hint)
+			return "", "", "", err
+		} else {
+			return "", "", "", err
+		}
+	}
+
+	return container, image, release, nil
+}
+
 // showManual tries to open the specified manual page using man on stdout
 func showManual(manual string) error {
 	manBinary, err := exec.LookPath("man")
diff --git a/src/meson.build b/src/meson.build
index 30b771a..9adc42a 100644
--- a/src/meson.build
+++ b/src/meson.build
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ sources = files(
   'cmd/utils.go',
   'pkg/podman/podman.go',
   'pkg/shell/shell.go',
+  'pkg/utils/errors.go',
   'pkg/utils/utils.go',
   'pkg/version/version.go',
 )
diff --git a/src/pkg/utils/errors.go b/src/pkg/utils/errors.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..754e5a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pkg/utils/errors.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2022 Red Hat Inc.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package utils
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+type ContainerError struct {
+	Container string
+	Image     string
+	Err       error
+}
+
+type ParseReleaseError struct {
+	Hint string
+}
+
+func (err *ContainerError) Error() string {
+	errMsg := fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s", err.Container, err.Err)
+	return errMsg
+}
+
+func (err *ContainerError) Unwrap() error {
+	return err.Err
+}
+
+func (err *ParseReleaseError) Error() string {
+	return err.Hint
+}
diff --git a/src/pkg/utils/utils.go b/src/pkg/utils/utils.go
index acef5a5..0994a95 100644
--- a/src/pkg/utils/utils.go
+++ b/src/pkg/utils/utils.go
@@ -117,6 +117,10 @@ var (
 
 var (
 	ContainerNameDefault string
+
+	ErrContainerNameFromImageInvalid = errors.New("container name generated from image is invalid")
+
+	ErrContainerNameInvalid = errors.New("container name is invalid")
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -605,16 +609,9 @@ func ShortID(id string) string {
 	return id
 }
 
-func ParseRelease(distro, release string) (string, error) {
+func parseRelease(distro, release string) (string, error) {
 	if distro == "" {
-		distro = distroDefault
-		if viper.IsSet("general.distro") {
-			distro = viper.GetString("general.distro")
-		}
-	}
-
-	if _, supportedDistro := supportedDistros[distro]; !supportedDistro {
-		distro = distroFallback
+		panic("distro not specified")
 	}
 
 	distroObj, supportedDistro := supportedDistros[distro]
@@ -636,11 +633,11 @@ func parseReleaseFedora(release string) (string, error) {
 	releaseN, err := strconv.Atoi(release)
 	if err != nil {
 		logrus.Debugf("Parsing release %s as an integer failed: %s", release, err)
-		return "", errors.New("The release must be a positive integer.")
+		return "", &ParseReleaseError{"The release must be a positive integer."}
 	}
 
 	if releaseN <= 0 {
-		return "", errors.New("The release must be a positive integer.")
+		return "", &ParseReleaseError{"The release must be a positive integer."}
 	}
 
 	return release, nil
@@ -648,17 +645,17 @@ func parseReleaseFedora(release string) (string, error) {
 
 func parseReleaseRHEL(release string) (string, error) {
 	if i := strings.IndexRune(release, '.'); i == -1 {
-		return "", errors.New("The release must be in the '<major>.<minor>' format.")
+		return "", &ParseReleaseError{"The release must be in the '<major>.<minor>' format."}
 	}
 
 	releaseN, err := strconv.ParseFloat(release, 32)
 	if err != nil {
 		logrus.Debugf("Parsing release %s as a float failed: %s", release, err)
-		return "", errors.New("The release must be in the '<major>.<minor>' format.")
+		return "", &ParseReleaseError{"The release must be in the '<major>.<minor>' format."}
 	}
 
 	if releaseN <= 0 {
-		return "", errors.New("The release must be a positive number.")
+		return "", &ParseReleaseError{"The release must be a positive number."}
 	}
 
 	return release, nil
@@ -730,6 +727,11 @@ func ResolveContainerAndImageNames(container, distroCLI, imageCLI, releaseCLI st
 		}
 	}
 
+	release, err := parseRelease(distro, release)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", "", "", err
+	}
+
 	if imageCLI == "" {
 		image = getDefaultImageForDistro(distro, release)
 
@@ -765,6 +767,14 @@ func ResolveContainerAndImageNames(container, distroCLI, imageCLI, releaseCLI st
 		if tag != "" {
 			container = container + "-" + tag
 		}
+
+		if !IsContainerNameValid(container) {
+			return "", "", "", &ContainerError{container, image, ErrContainerNameFromImageInvalid}
+		}
+	} else {
+		if !IsContainerNameValid(container) {
+			return "", "", "", &ContainerError{container, "", ErrContainerNameInvalid}
+		}
 	}
 
 	logrus.Debug("Resolved container and image names")
diff --git a/src/pkg/utils/utils_test.go b/src/pkg/utils/utils_test.go
index ec68036..9197182 100644
--- a/src/pkg/utils/utils_test.go
+++ b/src/pkg/utils/utils_test.go
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func TestParseRelease(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			release, err := ParseRelease(tc.inputDistro, tc.inputRelease)
+			release, err := parseRelease(tc.inputDistro, tc.inputRelease)
 
 			if tc.ok {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
diff --git a/test/system/101-create.bats b/test/system/101-create.bats
index 1c9c2d7..e03518c 100644
--- a/test/system/101-create.bats
+++ b/test/system/101-create.bats
@@ -56,6 +56,19 @@ teardown() {
   assert_line --index 2 "Run 'toolbox --help' for usage."
 }
 
+@test "create: Try to create a container with invalid custom image ('ßpeci@l.Nam€')" {
+  local image="ßpeci@l.Nam€"
+
+  run $TOOLBOX create --image "$image"
+
+  assert_failure
+  assert_line --index 0 "Error: invalid argument for '--image'"
+  assert_line --index 1 "Container name $image generated from image is invalid."
+  assert_line --index 2 "Container names must match '[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_.-]*'."
+  assert_line --index 3 "Run 'toolbox --help' for usage."
+  assert [ ${#lines[@]} -eq 4 ]
+}
+
 @test "create: Create a container with a distro and release options ('fedora'; f32)" {
   pull_distro_image fedora 32