diff --git a/src/linkahead/common/models.py b/src/linkahead/common/models.py
index b3acd770d0f0960c599144032f028a68b4bd3ad5..0384514325a7866faf192beed5502311758afbe8 100644
--- a/src/linkahead/common/models.py
+++ b/src/linkahead/common/models.py
@@ -1767,7 +1767,9 @@ def _parse_value(datatype, value):
                     raise te
 
     # deal with references
-    return value
+    if isinstance(value, Entity):
+        return value
+    raise RuntimeError("This should not be reached")
 
 
 def _log_request(request, xml_body=None):