diff --git a/pagure/lib/git.py b/pagure/lib/git.py
index 1569659..50c89b1 100644
--- a/pagure/lib/git.py
+++ b/pagure/lib/git.py
@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@ from pagure.lib.repo import PagureRepo
 # pylint: disable=R0913,E1101,R0914
 
 
+def get_pygit2_version():
+    ''' Return pygit2 version as a tuple of integers.
+    This is needed for correct version comparison.
+    '''
+    return tuple([int(i) for i in pygit2.__version__.split('.')])
+
+
 def commit_to_patch(repo_obj, commits):
     ''' For a given commit (PyGit2 commit object) of a specified git repo,
     returns a string representation of the changes the commit did in a
diff --git a/pagure/lib/repo.py b/pagure/lib/repo.py
index c8a0661..2db6ba5 100644
--- a/pagure/lib/repo.py
+++ b/pagure/lib/repo.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import pygit2
 
 import pagure
 import pagure.exceptions
+import pagure.lib.git
 
 
 class PagureRepo(pygit2.Repository):
@@ -24,7 +25,8 @@ class PagureRepo(pygit2.Repository):
     @staticmethod
     def push(remote, refname):
         """ Push the given reference to the specified remote. """
-        if pygit2.__version__.startswith('0.22'):
+        pygit2_version = pagure.lib.git.get_pygit2_version()
+        if pygit2_version >= (0, 22):
             remote.push([refname])
         else:
             remote.push(refname)