diff --git a/syntax/ticker.php b/syntax/ticker.php
index c759cc4..7ceb71b 100644
--- a/syntax/ticker.php
+++ b/syntax/ticker.php
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ public function postConnect() {
      * @param Doku_Handler    $handler The handler
      * @return array Data for the renderer
      */
-    public function handle($match, $state, $pos, Doku_Handler &$handler){
+    public function handle($match, $state, $pos, Doku_Handler $handler){
         if ($state !== 3) {
             return array();
         }
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ public function cleanData($data) {
      * @param array          $data      The data from the handler() function
      * @return bool If rendering was successful.
      */
-    public function render($mode, Doku_Renderer &$renderer, $data) {
+    public function render($mode, Doku_Renderer $renderer, $data) {
         if($mode != 'xhtml') return false;
         if (empty($data)) return false;