{
  "id": 3912017,
  "title": "Hearts aim cheeky Celtic dig only for Austrian club to deliver brutal response",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/hearts-aim-cheeky-celtic-dig-only-for-austrian-club-to-deliver-brutal",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-28T06:35:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/hearts-aim-cheeky-celtic-dig-063500723.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hearts made a playful remark about Celtic after their European triumph on Thursday, but the joke was swiftly turned back on them. The Scottish club secured their spot in the Conference League by defeating Rapid Vienna on penalties in Austria. A 2-2 draw in the play-off round led to a shootout, where Hearts emerged victorious 4-3, earning their place in the league stage. However, they quickly capitalized on Celtic's recent Europa League heartbreak. Martin O'Neill's side had previously led 3-0 in the first leg and built a 4-goal cushion in aggregate, only to suffer a dramatic collapse and be relegated to the Europa League. In response to Hearts' joke, Sturm Graz quipped: \"Winning in Graz isn't for everyone – all the best in the @Conf_League!\" The reference was a jab at Hearts' own humiliating European experience in July, where they were soundly defeated 4-0 by Sturm in Austria and then lost 2-0 at home, resulting in a 6-0 aggregate loss. Celtic is likely to face significant criticism for their chaotic performance against LASK earlier this week.",
  "summary": "Hearts aimed a cheeky dig at Celtic following their European success on Thursday night – only for the joke to quickly come back in their direction.The Tynecastle side secured their place in the Conf...",
  "key_points": [
    "Hearts jokingly taunted Celtic after European win",
    "Celtic suffered Europa League elimination earlier",
    "Sturm Graz mocked Hearts' own recent Europa League failure"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}