The Leicester centre-back was disappointed by the performance of referee Georgi Kabakov during Friday's narrow defeat to Austria in Vienna, saying that he allowed the home side to get away with too much.
"I think it's a bit of a myth," he said Northern Ireland's reputation as a physical team. "I think it all comes from the fact we play British football, but look at our disciplinary record over the last number of years. It's one of things we've made huge improvements on.
"If you look at the physicality of Austria and the way they were in the game, I thought the referee was really poor in how he managed it. A lot of decisions went their way.
"We were going for challenges and they weren't looking at the ball and making obvious fouls which could be dangerous - especially if you're in mid-air. That happened to me.
"I'm not really sure what to expect from the Bosnia game, but I think people underestimate the physicality in Europe.
"They are a lot more clever than us in terms of buying fouls and a lot more streetwise in how to control the referee. I think that's a culture thing."