Is there a way of hiding that I took part in this embarrassing fund? I need to hide my profile, so people will not see the tale-telling paints in my garage, right?

It says a lot about the game mechanics and the underlying logic, but this kind of behaviour actually is the only rational thing to do. If you just play the game like a normal player, you'll hit big problems the minute you reach Major, i.e., the first rank at which M7 items can be bought in the shop.

As for matchmaking - we have an old saying: "If your horse has a limp, you can shoot it. But that won't fix the leg."