I don't have a perfect solution. I am not one of the developers and I don't have access to the source code. I agree that basing the ranking system on fans is pointless, doesn't even currently work properly and they should remove fan loss. However, I still can only play against teams with a fan base more than double mine and with team star ratings 50-70* above mine.
At least with a true ranking of ability there would be far fewer instances of the current exploitation and possibly to improve it even further, offer rewards and penalties such as 2 Gold Balls for a win, 1 for a draw and -1 for a loss? Or similarly with heaI kits or recruiter points as is done in Guild Challenges. It might make the people using the exploit change their way of thinking if they have an incentive to play properly. How workable this would be in reality can only be answered by the developers. Some other "incentive system" may work better and I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this Black Monks.