diff --git a/gitdb/db/ref.py b/gitdb/db/ref.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
#
# This module is part of GitDB and is released under
# the New BSD License: https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/
-import codecs
from gitdb.db.base import (
    CompoundDB,
)
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ def _update_dbs_from_ref_file(self):
        # try to get as many as possible, don't fail if some are unavailable
        ref_paths = list()
        try:
-            with codecs.open(self._ref_file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                ref_paths = [l.strip() for l in f]
        except OSError:
            pass