diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 805a5f0..c3b2e12 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,17 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/)
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 
+## [0.5.1] - 2023-05-10
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Switching academy version in gitlab-ci include causes ci error.
+- Distribute not working due to invalid variable.
+
+### Added
+
+- Add --force-merge param to distribute.
+
 ## [0.5.0] - 2023-05-02
 
 _Stable release based on [0.5.0-rc.1]._
@@ -32,6 +43,7 @@ _Stable release based on [0.5.0-rc.1]._
  - Set name of distributed project as `original_project_name user_name`
 
 
+[0.5.1]: https://https://github.com/internetguru/academy/compare/v0.5.0...v0.5.1
 [0.5.0]: https://https://github.com/internetguru/academy/compare/v0.4.0...v0.5.0
 [0.5.0-rc.1]: https://github.com/internetguru/academy/releases/tag/v0.4.0
 [0.4.0]: https://github.com/internetguru/academy/compare/v0.3.0...v0.4.0
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 8f0916f..4b9fcbe 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.5.0
+0.5.1
diff --git a/distribute b/distribute
index 6f2deb4..8c6b28d 100755
--- a/distribute
+++ b/distribute
@@ -92,9 +92,15 @@ update_user_repo() {
   git_add_all "${user_cache_folder}"
   git_commit "${user_cache_folder}" '-m "Update assignment"'
   git_push "${user_cache_folder}" '--all'
-  declare project_id
-  request_exists \
-    || create_request
+  if [[ $FORCE_MERGE == 1 ]]; then
+    git_checkout "${user_cache_folder}" "${user_default_branch}"
+    git_merge "${user_cache_folder}" '--no-ff' "${SOURCE_BRANCH}"
+    git_push "${user_cache_folder}" origin "${user_default_branch}"
+    git_checkout "${user_cache_folder}" "${SOURCE_BRANCH}"
+  else
+    request_exists \
+      || create_request
+  fi
   copy_issues
   set_public_pages "${project_id}" >/dev/null
 }
@@ -294,11 +300,12 @@ declare -i ISSUES_COUNT=0
 declare -i issues_count_src="${ISSUES_COUNT}"
 # shellcheck disable=SC2034
 declare ACADEMY_GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN
+declare FORCE_MERGE=0
 
 # get options
 declare OPT
-OPT="$(getopt --name "${0}" --options 'a:d:hi:lno:p:s:r:' \
-  --longoptions 'assign:,help,process-issues:,update-links,default-branch-namespace:,dry-run,output-dir:,prefix:,member-role:,namespace:' \
+OPT="$(getopt --name "${0}" --options 'a:d:hi:lno:p:s:r:m' \
+  --longoptions 'assign:,help,process-issues:,update-links,default-branch-namespace:,dry-run,output-dir:,prefix:,member-role:,namespace:,force-merge' \
   -- "$@")" \
   && eval set -- "${OPT}" \
   || exit 1
@@ -332,6 +339,10 @@ while (( $# > 0 )); do
         || exception 'Readme file not found in WORKING_DIR'
       shift
       ;;
+    -m|--force-merge)
+      FORCE_MERGE=1
+      shift
+      ;;
     -n|--dry-run)
       DRY_RUN='true'
       shift
diff --git a/gitlab-stages.yml b/gitlab-stages.yml
index d6311b5..e776b15 100644
--- a/gitlab-stages.yml
+++ b/gitlab-stages.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ variables:
   ACADEMY_DOCKER_IMAGE: ${ACADEMY_DEFAULT_DOCKER_IMAGE}
   ACADEMY_CACHE: "../.academy-cache"
   ACADEMY_EDITABLE: "*.*"
+  ACADEMY_FORCE_MERGE: ""
 
 cache:
   - key: academy-cache
@@ -47,7 +48,9 @@ cache:
   fi
   if [[ -d "${ACADEMY_DIR}/.git" ]]; then
     git -C "${ACADEMY_DIR}" reset --hard
-    git -C "${ACADEMY_DIR}" pull origin ${revision}
+    git -C "${ACADEMY_DIR}" config --replace-all remote.origin.fetch "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*"
+    git -C "${ACADEMY_DIR}" fetch origin ${revision}
+    git -C "${ACADEMY_DIR}" checkout origin/${revision}
   else
     git clone --single-branch --branch ${revision} https://github.com/InternetGuru/academy ${ACADEMY_DIR}
   fi
@@ -180,7 +183,11 @@ distribute:
           # TODO remove other existing repositories
         else
           users="$(get_users)"
-          ${ACADEMY} distribute --update-links --namespace "${user_namespace}" \
+          declare merge=''
+          if [[ -n "${ACADEMY_FORCE_MERGE}" ]]; then
+            merge='--force-merge'
+          fi
+          ${ACADEMY} distribute ${merge} --update-links --namespace "${user_namespace}" \
             --process-issues "${ACADEMY_ISSUES:-${CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME}}" \
             <<< "${users}"
         fi