Premiership Poaching Players-Guilty or Not?

Headlines were made with the schocking announcement that Chelsea have been banned from registering players for 1 year. FIFA announced the punishment after deciding that Chelsea had induced Gael Kakuta to leave his club, Racing Club de Lens, in breach of contract in 2007.
While this incident was big news, and with Chelsea sure to appeal, we'll be hearing a lot about it for the foreseeable, the underlying issues is actually far more important.
Crucially, clubs in mainland Europe can not offer youth players professional contracts until they are 18. Players often sign pre-contract agreements, which essentially commit them to the club, with the full contract kicking in when the player reaches 18. Another option is paying youth players by the month, but that is more common in lower league teams, and with players that are not considered good enought to be worth a full contract. In England however, the situation is different, with clubs allowed to offer youth players professional contracts from the age of 17, as well as a host of other incentives that can be very enticing for young players and their families.  All of England's top clubs take advantage of this, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United all guilty of taking the pick of a clubs youth system, and paying miniscule compensation, often less than 500,000 Euros.
English clubs have of course consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming that because of the English laws limiting their recruiting, they are forced to seek elsewhere for top young talents. Clubs in England are in fact not allowed to incorporate players from further than 70 Kilometers away in to their youth academies. While this seems minor, it can be quite a problem for teams like Liverpool, for whom much of their potential recruiting area is ocean.
That said, it is disingenuous to use that as an excuse for systematically hoovering up all the best talent in the world without paying adequate compensation. In the long term, it is in the best interest of the fans that the young talent is spread around, rather than being developed only from a select group of ultra-clubs. Of course, clubs that have the opportunity to grab all the talent will do just that, unless laws are put in place to make sure that adequate compensation is required. It is in their best interests to do whatever they can to succeed, and rules or fairness be damned. The financial rewards that a talented youngster can bring, as well as the sporting rewards, are well worth any minor tap-on-the-wrist that the clubs may receive, and that needs to change. UEFA needs to act, and act now. Strong action will be better for European football, and strong action might help bring UEFA some genuine respect from fans and clubs.