A lucky referee tonight...
The first ten minutes...
I was astonished how a man of his experience handled the first ten minutes - especially considering the circumstances this match was played in. Mario Gomez stood voluntarily in front of the ball (1'') - no reaction by the ref. He did nothing against a borderline tackling from behind (4'') by a Spaniard. And then the theatrical coup of the match: A very soft handball penalty call against Alaba who was shot at with the hand bent slightly down (6''). In comparison to the generousness Kassai applied to the disciplinary measures until then and further along, this was completely out of touch with the rest of his line. In a CL-semi final, I wouldn't whistle for a handball like this but he did. The 2-0 (14'') looked a few inches or so offside - at the limit of detection I agree, but nevertheless visible.
If you give one soft penalty, you have to give more...
The problem with soft calls is that these set a very low barrier for further decisions in the match. Just as it looked as Kassai would rather favour with Madrid the home side, he gave another soft penalty for Bayern Munich for shirt-pulling against Gomez in minute 23. The two yellows after the penalties were of a purely tactical nature in my mind and did not add up to a systematic approach of any kind. He gave no further cards for any fouls although he could have easily booked one or two players on each side (e.g. Luis Gustavo 40''), so the only strong point in the first half was the fluency of the game which Kassai enabled. To me, he gave more FKs to Madrid and seemed slightly impressed by the atmosphere at least in the opening quarter.
Tactical issues
In the second half, the strange dance continued. Both teams seemed to play with four brake systems attached trying to avoid mistakes. So tactical issues played a vital role as both teams almost avoided physical contact. Kassai went with the flow which was quite slow and slightly chaotic today. His card policy remained mysterious: He booked Abelardo for a tactical foul (53"), but let get away Luiz Gustavo with three or four clumsy tackling just to show him yellow for the tamest already in extra time (101"). Robben got booked for dissent after being fouled a metre away from the assistant referee. Badstuber's yellow on the other hand was completely justified (104").
What about more soft penalty calls?
Considering the two penalties awarded in this match, it was also inconsistent to book Grandero for diving in minute 115 after being briefly pulled by Neuer in the box. On the whole, Kassai was not good in my mind but he kind of got away with it due to his reputation and the respect by both teams.
The mark
I deduce a full mark for two penalties and another mark for the card policy. 0,7 are added for the fact that the teams behaved themselves although I believe he was only lucky tonight.
The penalties
Unbelievable! Two saves by Neuer, one ball into the night sky and two Bayern player missing as well with Schweinsteiger setting the lucky punch. A lucky ref and a lucky Bayern side...