diff --git a/pagure/__init__.py b/pagure/__init__.py
index 8eed220..695aec8 100644
--- a/pagure/__init__.py
+++ b/pagure/__init__.py
@@ -314,13 +314,28 @@ def __get_file_in_tree(repo_obj, tree, filepath):
     ''' Retrieve the entry corresponding to the provided filename in a
     given tree.
     '''
+
     filename = filepath[0]
     if isinstance(tree, pygit2.Blob):
         return
     for entry in tree:
         if entry.name == filename:
             if len(filepath) == 1:
-                return repo_obj[entry.oid]
+                blob = repo_obj[entry.oid]
+                content = blob.data
+                # If it's a (sane) symlink, we try a single-level dereference
+                if entry.filemode == pygit2.GIT_FILEMODE_LINK \
+                        and os.path.normpath(content) == content \
+                        and not os.path.isabs(content):
+                    try:
+                        dereferenced = tree[content]
+                    except KeyError:
+                        pass
+                    else:
+                        if dereferenced.filemode == pygit2.GIT_FILEMODE_BLOB:
+                            blob = repo_obj[dereferenced.oid]
+
+                return blob
             else:
                 return __get_file_in_tree(
                     repo_obj, repo_obj[entry.oid], filepath[1:])
diff --git a/pagure/ui/repo.py b/pagure/ui/repo.py
index 50ff49b..4efb6db 100644
--- a/pagure/ui/repo.py
+++ b/pagure/ui/repo.py
@@ -88,18 +88,9 @@ def view_repo(repo, username=None):
     for i in tree:
         name, ext = os.path.splitext(i.name)
         if name == 'README':
-            content = repo_obj[i.oid].data
-            # If it's a (sane) symlink, we try a single-level dereference
-            if i.filemode == pygit2.GIT_FILEMODE_LINK \
-                    and os.path.normpath(content) == content \
-                    and not os.path.isabs(content):
-                try:
-                    dereferenced = last_commits[0].tree[content]
-                except KeyError:
-                    pass
-                else:
-                    if dereferenced.filemode == pygit2.GIT_FILEMODE_BLOB:
-                        content = repo_obj[dereferenced.oid].data
+            content = __get_file_in_tree(
+                repo_obj, last_commits[0].tree, [i.name]).data
+
             readme, safe = pagure.doc_utils.convert_readme(
                 content, ext,
                 view_file_url=flask.url_for(